The original WKYC "Behind the Scenes" blog written by Channel 3 Emmy Award Winning Director Frank Macek from the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center in Cleveland, Ohio, with feature stories about Channel 3 and our many on-line platforms.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

WKYC To Educate Viewers On Importance Of Cleveland School Levy

Learn more @http://bit.ly/Vote107

It's been 16 years in the making, a Cleveland school levy that might actually pass and Cleveland Municipal School District CEO Eric Gordon knows why.

Channel 3 is joining many other individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Northeast Ohio in educating voters about the impact that a strong school system will have on the economic future of our region.

While the decision on the school levy lies with Cleveland voters, Channel 3 recognizes the importance of making certain that every eligible voter has all the facts before they visit the polls.

Every day we will bring you stories that ask the hard questions, provide in-depth information, and show you what's working in the school district and what is not.

It's not our goal to tell voters how to vote, but we want them to have all the facts.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

NBC News & Notes: 9/26/12

By Frank Macek

Here is a look at some of the news from our parent network, NBC, with regards to what you see on WKYC, Channel 3...

Executive Producer Jim Bell disputes reports that have been circulating about "Today" show host Matt Lauer being difficult to work with as the show experiences as decrease in ratings. In a report by the Associated Press, Bell calls Lauer "the heart and soul of NBC's morning news show and that negative stories about him have been hard to deal with." Ratings for the popular morning show have been challenged against ABC's "Good Morning America" since Ann Curry was replaced by Savannah Guthrie.

The September 17 premiere of NBC's new Monday drama "Revolution" has set time-shifting records for the network and for a debuting series on any network. In "live plus three day" ratings from Nielsen Media Research that count time-shifted viewing through the first three days after a show's live telecast, the "Revolution" premiere grew by 1.36 rating points from its "live plus same day" rating (a 4.09) to its "live plus three day" rating (5.45).

NBC has picked up the fourth and fifth cycles of the hit music competition series "The Voice" for Spring and Fall 2013, it has been announced by Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. This pickup will assure the many dedicated "Voice" fans that this innovative show will continue to bring some of the most talented new voices to the world's attention through all of next year," said Greenblatt. "With the addition of Usher and Shakira as rotating coaches to join Christina, CeeLo, Adam and Blake in the next cycle, we know that this incredibly addictive program will remain even more relevant as we move forward through this exciting season. My hat is off to John de Mol, Mark Burnett, and everyone who produces this classy and highly entertaining show for us."

Willie Geist is likely to become a permenant co-host on the 3rd hour of the "Today Show" with Natalie Morales. Currently, Willie hosts MSNBC's show "Way Too Early" and appears on "Morning Joe" hosted by Joe Scarborough.

NBC Sports is offering a total of 60 hours of coverage of this year's Ryders Cup. While most of that will be on the Golf Channel, 16 hours of live coverage will air on WKYC this weekend.

Karina Mitchell To Join Channel 3

Karina Mitchell

Karina Mitchell has joined the WKYC team as the Arts, Culture & Entertainment Contributor to "Live on Lakeside" and will be also providing content to Channel 3 News on a regular basis.

Karina brings 8 years of national broadcast experience as an entertainment, lifestyle and feature contributor to CBS News in New York, as well as a fill-in headline news anchor for CBS Mobile News and reporter for CBS News.com. She has covered a variety of news making events, including the stock market crash in 2008 and the 2008 presidential race.

More recently, she hosted "Showbuzz" a weekly movie review show and blog. Karina has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment, music and fashion - Sir Anthony Hopkins, Madonna, Vera Wang, Angelina Jolie, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise and Phil Collins to name a few.

Prior to that position, she was a General Assignment Reporter for News 12 in New York, shooting, editing and reporting her own pieces. She was also the co-anchor for "The Best Half," a morning talk and feature show on cable, and has reported stories for LI News Tonight.

She began her U.S. broadcast career as an intern on the highly acclaimed CBS "Sunday Morning" show and considers host Charles Osgood a friend and a mentor. Born in Hong Kong, Karina relishes her Indian roots and attended British schools before finishing her degree in New York. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in International Studies, Economics and French.

While new to Cleveland, Karina loves the passion she sees in people here and enjoys exploring all the rich history, restaurants, arts and culture the city has to offer. When not working, Karina indulges her love of traveling, cooking international cuisine and keeping in touch with her friends. She also says her real job is being a mom to three amazing children - Nikhil, Sherina & Anjali. Her late husband was Sunil Mahtani.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

WKYC News & Notes: 9/26/12

By Frank Macek

It's time for another "behind the scenes" look at what's happening inside the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center.

This week, WKYC morning anchor Erin Kennedy traveled to New York City to represent Channel 3 News in "Education Nation." The third annual event is sponsored by NBC News and is being held at The New York Public Library. "Education Nation" is a summit where parents, educators, and students met with leaders in politics, business & technology to explore the challenges and opportunities in education today. Watch for Erin's reports all this week on Channel 3 News Today from 4:30 a.m. until 7 a.m. and during Channel 3 News at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.educationnation.com

Channel 3 will air the Browns vs. Ravens game on Thursday night at 8 p.m. on your "Official Home of the Cleveland Browns." Thursday's special programming schedule will include: Channel 3 News at 6, the Pregame Huddle at 6:30 p.m., NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams at 7 p.m., Channel 3 News at 7:30 p.m. and the game at 8 p.m. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

WKYC will also air the U.S. Senate Debate between Democrat incumbent Sherrod Brown and his Republican Challenger Josh Mandel on Thursday, October 25, 2012, from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. This particular debate will be held in Cincinnati and is being hosted by NBC. Other Senate debates between Brown and Mandel will be held at the City Club in Cleveland on October 15th and in Columbus, although a date for this debate hosted by WBNS-TV has not been finalized.

Station employees of Channel 3 will be participating in a Gannett initiative on Saturday, October 27th, called "Make a Difference Day: A National Day of Doing Good" This year, our local staff will be volunteering time and services at some of the following locations around northeast Ohio: Akron/Canton Food Bank, various Boys and Girls Clubs, Coats for Kids, Cleveland Food Bank, and the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland. Watch Channel 3 News for more on this important project in the coming weeks.

And finally, congratulations to our parent company Gannett's President & CEO, Gracia Martore, on being named one of Fortune’s 50 "Most Powerful Woman in Business." Martore, who became CEO over a year ago, is giving Gannett a makeover and investing in digital and charging for online content.

NBC Weatherman Al Roker was back in town Tuesday evening as part of the Dave Thomas Celebrity Cookoff at Benihana's in Beachwood and will bring the entire nation the weather from the West Side Market in Cleveland on Wednesday morning as part of the market's centennial anniversary celebrations.

As many of you know, Al is a Channel 3 alumnus. He started working for NBC when WKYC was an owned and operated station in 1978. He remained with us for 5 years before being promoted to the network's flagship station, WNBC-TV, and moving back home to New York City where he was born.

Today, Al is the main weather anchor for the "Today Show" and hosts "Wake Up With Al" on "The Weather Channel" from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m.

Our own WKYC Chief Meterologist Betsy Kling had the chance to interview Al before the cookoff this evening and shares his funny senses of humor.

'Voice' Stars To Take Break

Usher and Shakira will join the NBC singing competition as coaches for spring's fourth season, taking the place of Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, who will take that cycle off.

Aguilera is releasing a new album and going on tour, while Green is developing new music and a scripted series for NBC based on his life.
Current coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will be back for Season 4.
"We are thrilled to welcome Usher and Shakira," NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said in a statement.

"Doing two back-to-back cycles of this show requires a tremendous amount of time, and we are happy to accommodate the commitments made by Christina and Cee Lo. The participants on our show benefit from our coaches' expertise and their continued success in the music business allows for significant contributions to the contestants."

Both Aguilera and Green offered comments as well. "Being a coach on The Voice is a wonderful experience, and the relationship amongst us all is like an extended family," said Aguilera. "As I have expressed since Day 1 of the show, I am a singer and performer first and I am so excited to get back to that love."

"I'm highly enthusiastic about focusing my undivided attention on my additional endeavors and interests," Green said. "I will return for Season 5 and will be watching Season 4.

NBC is home, and as far as Usher and Shakira are concerned, 'mi casa su casa.'"

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Gannett Acquires Mobestream Media

Gannett, parent company of WKYC-TV, announced today that it has acquired Mobestream Media, maker of the Key Ring consumer rewards mobile platform (“Key Ring”) available on all major smartphones.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. More than five million users have downloaded the free Key Ring app to scan and store existing loyalty cards, join new rewards programs and get mobile coupons and other promotional offers delivered to their smartphones.

With Key Ring, consumers have a simple solution to access their digital coupons, digitize their loyalty cards, join new loyalty programs, manage their accounts online and share their cards and offers through their social networks and email.

Consumers also receive location-based mobile coupons and other promotional offers. “Mobile coupons are a fast-growing segment of the national and local marketing sector. Key Ring has led the way with consumer adoption of its smartphone app and developed key relationships with small and mid-sized retailers,” said Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Gannett.

“With Key Ring, we will be able to provide consumers with a very easy way to use and manage their digital customer loyalty cards and access mobile coupons. For our business clients, Key Ring enables them to enhance and grow their relationships with customers by distributing their loyalty programs and providing a new method of reaching consumers.”

Key Ring is a leader in the mobile loyalty space with strong retailer relationships. The Key Ring platform supports a variety of business clients across the U.S., including those in retail, restaurants, grocery, convenience and health and fitness. Key Ring’s capabilities will be part of Gannett Digital Marketing Services mobile product and will serve as a distribution outlet and consumer marketing platform.

Through Key Ring’s backend marketing platform, merchants can customize their offerings and provide each loyalty member with unique content and messaging via email, push/pull notifications as well as in-app messages. Key Ring will operate as a stand-alone business, with Key Ring CEO Chris Fagan reporting to Vikram Sharma, president and CEO of Digital Marketing Services.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

WKYC's Russ Mitchell Talks To Dan Rather About Presidential Election

Russ Mitchell (L) and Dan Rather (R)

By Frank Macek

WKYC Anchor Russ Mitchell sat down with his longtime CBS News colleague Dan Rather at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Wednesday to get Dan's take on this year's presidential election.

As many WKYC viewers know, Mitchell is the former anchor of the CBS Evening News weekend editions and The Early Show on Saturday, and national correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, the CBS Evening News, and The Early Show.

Mitchell joined the staff of WKYC as Managing Editor of Evening News and lead anchor of the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on January 16, 2012

Rather is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel AXS TV. Before that, he became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogether after 43 years in 2006.

This year marks the 29th convention that Dan Rather has covered during his career.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Biggest Loser To Tackle Childhood Obesity In New Season

NBC’S “The Biggest Loser” kicks off in early January 2013 with the return of Jillian Michaels and a big, bold mission: to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic head on by featuring kid participants (ages 13-17) for the first time ever in addition to adult contestants. Michaels will join popular returning trainers and top fitness experts Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince. Season 14 will also feature special celebrity guest stars and additional surprises that will be revealed closer to the premiere.

In addition to being one of the top health and fitness experts in the country, Michaels is a best-selling author who co-owns and runs her health and fitness empire Empowered Media with business partner Giancarlo Chersich. She whipped contestants into shape for 10 seasons on “The Biggest Loser,” and returns in season 14 as a new mother of two, a life change that has made her more committed than ever in helping kids who are struggling with weight issues. “As a former overweight teen, I know firsthand how dramatically weight issues can affect every aspect of a child’s life,” said Michaels. ”Having recently become a mother of two, I am more passionate than ever about helping empower children and families with the information and resources they need to live a healthier life.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 17 percent (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese, with obesity prevalence among children and adolescents almost tripling since 1980. With childhood obesity at an all-time high, jeopardizing the health of kids and future generations, “The Biggest Loser” is committed to fighting this epidemic by featuring children this season to serve as ambassadors of change who can inspire kids all over the country to get healthy.

Contestants will be divided into three teams in season 14 – supervised by trainers Harper, Michaels and Quince. Each trainer/team will be paired with at least one child participant (age 13-17) who will compete with and contribute to their respective teams, but the kids will not be eligible for elimination. They will work at both the ranch and at home, and their progress will be featured in every episode. The trainers and “Biggest Loser” medical staff as well as behind-the-scenes childhood obesity experts will help the children get healthy, achieve their personal goals and transform their lives during the course of the season.